Whole-cell bioreporter application for rapid evaluation of hazardous metal bioavailability and toxicity in bioprocess

Development of transcriptional factor-based whole-cell biosensors to monitor and degrade antibiotics using mutant cells obtained via adaptive laboratory evolution

With the widespread use of antibiotics and increasing environmental concerns regarding antibiotic abuse, the detection and degradation of antibiotic residues in various samples has become a pressing issue. Transcriptional factor (TF)-based whole-cell biosensors are low-cost, easy-to-use, and flexible tools for detecting chemicals and controlling bioprocesses. However, because of cytotoxicity caused by antibiotics, the application of such biosensors is limited in the presence of antibiotics. In this study, we used antibiotic-tolerant mutants obtained via adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) to develop TF-based whole-cell biosensors for antibiotic monitoring and degradation. The biosensors had high performance and stability in detecting relatively high concentrations of tetracycline (Tc) and nisin. The ALE mutant-based Tc biosensor exhibited a 10-fold larger linear detection range than the wild-type strain-based biosensor. Then, the Tc biosensor was employed to detect residual amounts of Tc in mouse stool, serum, and urine samples and facilitate Tc biodegradation in mouse stool, demonstrating its high utility. Considering that ALE has been demonstrated to enhance cell tolerance to various toxic chemicals, our strategy might facilitate the development of whole-cell biosensors for most antibiotics and other toxic ligands.

Intelligent monitoring of the available lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in soil samples based on half adder and half subtractor molecular logic gates

The available heavy metals in soil samples can cause the direct toxicity on ecosystems, plants, and human health. Traditional chemical extraction and recombinant bacterial methods for the available heavy metals assay often suffer from inaccuracy and poor specificity. In this work, we construct half adder and half subtractor molecular logic gates with molecular-level biocomputation capabilities for the intelligent sensing of the available lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). The available Pb and Cd can cleave DNAzyme sequences to release the trigger DNA, which can activate the hairpin probe assembly in the logic system. This multifunctional logic system can not only achieve the intelligent recognition of the available Pb and Cd according to the truth tables, but also can realize the simultaneous quantification with high sensitivity, with the detection limits of 2.8 pM and 25.6 pM, respectively. The logic biosensor is robust and has been applied to determination of the available Pb and Cd in soil samples with good accuracy and reliability. The relative error (Re) between the logic biosensor and the DTPA + ICP-MS method was from -8.1 % to 7.9 %. With the advantages of programmability, scalability, and multicomputing capacity, the molecular logic system can provide a simple, rapid, and smart method for intelligent monitoring of the available Pb and Cd in environmental samples.